Skeletons
by half-hearted heroine
Summary: The gang investigates the murder of a paleontologist while dragging up their own skeletons. Set shortly after 'Window Dressed to Kill'. Continuation of the one-shot "Rhubarb Crunch" so that's the first chapter. Ned/Chuck Ned/Olive.
1. Rhubarb Crunch

**A/N: So, the italics are The Narrator talking. I think that's all we need to know for now....**

_It had been one day, six hours, forty-two minutes and thirty-four seconds since the Piemaker had spied Olive Snook and Randy Mann holding hands and looking deep into each other's eyes. Although he had turned away from the cozy couple in their little booth, Ned had not been fast enough to evade the sinking feeling in his chest, a feeling that he had correctly identified as jealousy. He found this odd, for he was not a jealous person._

"I'm not a jealous person," Ned said, his arms crossed on the table in front of him defensively.

"Sounds like you are." Emerson took a heaping forkful of pie and jabbed it towards Ned to emphasize his point. "Is this fruit alive for real, or are you back to zombie-pies?"

"It's alive again."

He _hmmmed_ noncommittally as he took another bite.

Ned propped his head up on one fist. "That's really not the issue here. What am I supposed to do? I mean, should I act on these feelings? Or were my feelings just a good-friend-caring-about-the-well-being-of-another-good-friend sort of thing? Nothing romantic at all?"

Pushing his slice of rhubarb crunch to the side, Emerson leaned back. "You know what you could do about this?"

"What?"

"You can act like the adult you are and just _ask_ Olive what was going on yesterday."

Ned sat up abruptly. "I can't do that! Not after our cliff-hanging incident!"

"Jeez, so much is off-limits with you," Emerson grumbled. "Hey, Olive!" he yelled towards the kitchen, her casual showtune cutting short. "Can you come here for a second?"

"Are you trying to make my life complicated?" Ned demanded.

Olive twirled out of the kitchen, her bright pink apron covered in flour. "What's up, guys? Ooh!" She flounced down next to Ned, bouncing in excitement. "Is there another mystery I can help you guys investigate? I still have all of our matching raincoats!" she trilled. "I even had one made for Chuck. It has bees on it!"

"There's no investigation right now, Itty Bitty, sorry," Emerson said, then gave Ned a very pointed look. "But, Ned, wasn't there something you wanted to mention to Olive?"

_Although the piemaker wanted very much to resolve his jealousy, the sinking feeling in his chest was quickly becoming replaced with anxiety. Part of it was anxiety over hurting Charlotte Charles, but another part of it was about Olive's answer. And Ned was not ready to face that._

"It's nothing, Olive," Ned said, smiling faintly.

Olive sighed, but tried to smile back. "Oh, okay."

A shrill timer alerted her to her work in the kitchen. "My pies are done!" she chirped, and bounced up off the seat just as quickly as she had appeared.

Emerson pulled his pie back in front of him. "Chicken," he teased.

Ned glared at him, and then stood up from the booth. "Enjoy your pie," he said, reaching over to lightly retouch the slice of rhubarb crunch. With a light spark, the rhubarb darkened and wilted, back to dead once more.

"That was so uncalled for!" Emerson yelled as Ned walked back into the kitchen.

**A/N: Whoo first fanfic! I might continue this after the next episode airs, but it'll most likely be a one-shot. Like, 90% chance of being a one-shot.**


	2. The Case

**A/N: So, I decided to make this a chapter-type thing instead of a one shot. But I had issues writing this chapter, so if it feels like worthless filler, tell me! I can take it! oh, and sorry it's short.**

_Emerson Cod never remained case-less for long. Shortly after leaving the Pie Hole, he was contacted about the recent death of Dr. Cathy Henderson. _

_Late last night, Dr. Henderson was on the third floor balcony of the Papen County Museum, admiring the display of the rare dinosaur skeleton that she had helped dig up. Unfortunately, she had been admiring it while leaning too far over the railing, and she fell, unpleasantly impaled by the very bones that would have propelled her career to new heights. The accident was called in by Dr. Jonas Daniels, who had been with her at the time, and he had tearfully recounted the tale to the emergency operators. The Papen County Police Department had taken Dr. Daniels into custody, as was normal procedure, but he was expected to be released soon after questioning._

"I don't really see what I can do about this," Emerson said, still admiring the thick fold of money handed to him.

"I don't believe it was an accident," Dr. Thomas Lane said. "I think that Dr. Daniels pushed Cathy over the railing." His eyes were beginning to tear up, and he held his hat over his heart for a moment.

"Ahh, well," Emerson mumbled. "That's a different story. Well, I can get back to you after we—examine the body, and I can offer you my theories after then." He picked up the phone, and rang the number for the Pie Hole.

Dr. Lane nodded, and after an awkward silent moment he took a few steps back out of the office. "You'll tell me when you get an update?"

Emerson nodded.

_Still on the phone, he resisted the urge to wave the man away before he walked out silently, and was also irritated that no one was picking up. He wondered if there was still any rhubarb crunch left at the Pie Hole, and since he was already going to swing by there, he might as well have another piece. Or two._


	3. Blissberry Pie

_Ever since he was a young boy, Ned hated confrontation. However, confrontation seemed to like Ned, if that could be judged by the multitude of visitors to the Pie Hole, most of which were unique at best. Currently, the Pie Hole was being visited by a very mysterious stranger indeed, but Ned was in the kitchen making his Blissberry pie, so he remained blissfully unaware of this mysterious visitor. Olive, however, approached the stranger with a menu and a smile._

"Welcome to the Pie Hole!" Olive said. "Can I interest you in one of the specials today?"

Despite the steadily warming weather, the man's face was still covered by a thick woolen scarf. "No thank you," he said politely. "I was actually interested in speaking to the owner, if he happens to be here…?"

"Oh, Ned's always here," Olive said, setting down the menu on the table. "Are you sure I can't get you a piece of pie while I go get him?"

"Sorry, strictly business today, honey," he said warmly. "Maybe another time."

Olive smiled at him before turning around to walk back to the kitchen. Ned was rolling out the dough for his pies, and he looked up upon hearing her enter.

"So, do they want a piece of Blissberry?" Ned asked, sprinkling more flour out on the table. "Because there's just one piece left before I bake this one."

"It's a he, not a they," Olive said, leaning on the table beside him. "And he actually just wants to talk to you."

Ned wiped his hands off on a dishtowel and peered over the pie display. "Which booth?"

Olive nudged up next to him and pointed. The mysterious visitor unwound his scarf and shrugged out of his jacket. Ned gasped.

"Tell him to leave!" he whispered urgently.

"What? Why?"

The stranger waved at him, an odd grin spreading across his face.

Ned ducked behind the display, and although Olive was very short anyway, she followed suit.

"That's my father." he said.

_Indeed, confrontation seemed to love the Piemaker._

**A/N: Ahh, a cliffhanger! But, just a teaser, there will be discussion of the actual cliff-hanging in "The Norwegians" either in next chapter or Chapter 4.**


	4. A FatherSon Conversation

**A/N: So, this chapter's longer to make up for the last two short ones (my bad, just the way it happened). Oh, I haven't mentioned it yet, but I don't own "Pushing Daisies". But if it's for sale at a reasonable price, then....**

"You have to go talk to him!" Olive said.

"No I don't!" Ned protested.

Olive put her hands on her hips. "Well, what are you gonna do, just leave him there until we close? 'Oh, excuse me there, sir, gotta mop under your feet, while Ned's still too busy making imaginary pies to talk to you!' You can't do that to him!"

"Please, Olive, I've told you about my father," Ned said. "I can't do this."

She sighed after a moment. "Fine, you pretend that you're busy. But you have to tell him. Say you're expecting a business call or something."

Ned looked at her blankly. "But I never get business calls."

Olive grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the door. "Yeah, but he doesn't have to know that. Now, go!"

With a shove, Ned stumbled out the doorway and slowly shuffled over to his father, grudgingly staring at the floor. He stood still for a moment in front of the booth, hands jammed in his pockets, before quickly asking, "What do you want?"

His father stood up and spread his arms wide for a hug. "Oh, Ned, don't be so harsh. Come here."

Ned stepped forward and silently allowed himself to be hugged, while not actually moving his own arms. "Why are you here?" he asked again, after the awkward half-hug ended.

"Can't a father just swing by to talk with his son? Come on, take a seat, Ned."

They sat down on opposite sides of the booth. Olive walked over with a pot of coffee and two menus, although Ned likely knew every item on it. "Ned, I know you don't drink coffee, but would you like some, Mr….?"

It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know if Ned had his mother's or father's last name.

"You can call me Jack, honey." Ned's father said cheerfully. "And I would love some coffee."

"Alrighty, then." Olive poured the cup of coffee dutifully. "Well, I'll leave you two to your father-son bonding time." She scurried off to clean one of the tables, although Ned was sure she picked that table for its eavesdropping quality.

Before Ned and Jack could continue their conversation, Emerson and Chuck threw open the front doors. Chuck, realizing who the mysterious stranger was, flipped up the collar of her jacket and rushed into the kitchen, although Ned was sure she was also going to eavesdrop on them. Emerson, however, strolled on up to the booth and said gruffly, "I got us another…client…we need to talk with, Ned. Who's this?"

"I'm Jack, Ned's father," Jack said. "I was just having a conversation with Ned about…cliffdiving."

Ned looked up warily. "No, we weren't."

"Okay, I guess it wasn't about cliff-diving exactly, more like "being saved from plunging to your death down a steep cliff." Naturally, I got them confused." Jack calmly took a sip of his coffee, and looked expectantly at Ned. "What's your client for?"

"Why are you talking about cliffs?" Ned asked, trying and failing to hide his panic.

"I think you know very well what I'm talking about," he said. "Or do you not recognize me without the mask and the friendly hand pulling you to safety?"

Ned could hear Olive gasp at the other table. "It was you!" he murmured in shock.

"Yep." Jack took another drink of coffee. "I'm kind of surprised that you didn't try to track down this mysterious stranger."

"I almost plummeted to my death, I was kind of distracted at the moment!" Ned replied. "But, how did you even know we were there?" he asked, softer this time.

"Well, I've been tracking you for a while now. An old neighbor of ours said you might be up to something no good. Ned, you might remember him," Jack said with a false grin stretching across his face. "Mr. Charles Charles, from across the street?"

_Although he phrased it like a question, his raised eyebrows showed that he already knew the answer, and the round of gasps he heard from Ned, Emerson, Olive and Chuck confirmed it._

"D—Dad," Ned stuttered. "I have to talk to Emerson about th-the client—"

"Not now, you don't," Jack said, sitting back in his seat. "I saved your life, the least you can give me is a conversation with some answers."

Emerson looked at Ned with some nervousness and frustration. "You know I can't talk with this client without you," he said, chuckling to hide how serious he was from Jack.

"Then do some interviews or something instead. Take Olive and—" Ned stopped.

"Chuck?" Jack prompted. "Was that her going into the kitchen just now?"

_Ned felt like he couldn't breathe. His life-long secret was out in the open. He was going to become a medical mystery to poke and prod, just like the nightmares he had during his childhood. And if Jack knew about Charles Charles, he must also have known about Ned's mother, and Ned's failed attempt to keep her forever. And all these fears, the skeletons that were tumbling out of Ned's closet, were crushing him beneath their weight._

**A/N: Whoo angst! There'll be more next chapter about the fathers' conversation, and the paleontologist case as well (but sorry if my criminal justice knowledge seems limited to what happens on "Law and Order", but it is what it is)**


	5. A Childhood Museum Visit

**A/N: Sorry this took a while, there was writer's block, along with a few awkward social situations that needed to be dealt with. And I finally got to see the series finale (which I thought was pretty good, except that it was the end of an awesome series)! So, this is somewhat AU now.**

_Previously:_

_"D—Dad," Ned stuttered. "I have to talk to Emerson about th-the client—"_

_"Not now, you don't," Jack said, sitting back in his seat. "I saved your life, the least you can give me is a conversation with some answers."_

_Emerson looked at Ned with some nervousness and frustration. "You know I can't talk with this client without you," he said, chuckling to hide how serious he was from Jack._

_"Then do some interviews or something instead. Take Olive and—" Ned stopped._

_"Chuck?" Jack prompted. "Was that her going into the kitchen just now?"_

Ned cleared his throat. "I—I have no idea what you're talking about," he lied nervously. "Chuck was murdered more than a year ago. And Mr. Charles passed away when I was ten."

"That's true," Jack said. "But that doesn't explain why he visited my apartment yesterday."

Ned's eyes widened. Mr. Charles had broken rules number eight and seventeen by simply visiting his father, let alone telling him about Chuck. The list of rules apparently didn't matter to him after he ran away.

"Oh, how cute, you still can't lie without your eye twitching like that! So, how long ago did you bring back Chuck?"

"I think we should continue this conversation in private!" Ned's voice jumped to an uncomfortably high pitch.

Jack drank the last bit of his coffee. "That's a good idea."

Ned stood up, and ignoring the way Olive gaped at him as he walked by, he led the way to the apartment stairwell through the kitchen. As the door swung open, he mouthed a horrified "Oh my God!" to Chuck, who stood at the main table holding the vase of flowers that Ned was sacrificing for his Blissberry pie.

"I'm so sorry," she squeaked. In a desperate attempt to hide from Ned's father, she held the flowers in front of her face as she twirled out the other door, timing it carefully enough to dodge him. Although, now she didn't know if her precaution would even matter, in light of her dad's secret-spilling.

Digby bounded over as soon as Ned opened the door, but immediately shied away when he saw the new visitor.

"Oh, is that Digby? When did that happen?"

Ned's hands were still deeply buried in his pockets. "When I was nine."

"What a shame." Digby barked viciously at him. "Oh, it seems like he doesn't remember me."

"I think he does," Ned said darkly.

Ignoring Ned's jibe, Jack wandered around the living room, looking the pictures on the wall and perusing the bookcase. Ned watched anxiously as he picked up one of the few family pictures he owned, examined it, and set it back down gently, smiling about how cheerful they had appeared.

"How much do you know?" Ned finally asked.

"You have a gift," Jack said. "We—your mother and I—discovered that when you were four."

Ned sat down on the couch. "You both knew?"

Jack chuckled to himself. "We went to the museum, and there was an interesting little incident that was hard to ignore…"

_On a dreary Saturday afternoon, Ned and his parents were touring the Papen County Historical Museum. Although the mummification exhibit was closed for renovations, Ned was happy looking at the small animals on display, not listening to his parents discussing their current marital woes behind him. The museum was unusually empty considering the miserable weather, and this was optimal for their argument to remain private. And, considering Ned's curiosity about the furry stuffed squirrel on display, the isolation was optimal to keep other things private as well._

_Ned had reached out to pet the squirrel only to see how soft it was, but it suddenly wriggled under his grasp and leapt to the floor, free of the display. Young Ned screamed, trying to get away from the animal, both of them completely terrified. The quiet argument stopped, and while Ned's father ran over to comfort the young boy, Ned's mother lunged for the squirrel. The squirrel, disoriented by its new freedom, tried to scurry away, but a bright blue spark crossed between the small animal and her hand, and it fell to the floor, motionless again._

"You would tell anyone you met about "the running squirrel", and we finally got you Digby to distract you," Jack said, laughing about this fond memory.

"Digby was a bribe?!"

"It worked!" he said. "You forgot all about the squirrel."

"Wait…" Ned looked up at his father. "You mean that _I_ must have re-touched the squirrel. You said Mom but it must have been—"

"I know what I said."

His mouth fell open for what felt like the hundredth time today. "You mean…Mom…"

"Yes."

Ned stood up, running his hands through his hair. "But I never saw—she never said anything—I mean—oh God, I can't breathe!"

"It was a shock to me as well," Jack said somewhat unhelpfully.

"I—I don't—I need to get some air—to think—I need to get out—"

Jack watched as he fumbled to undo the lock on the door. "Ned, please, we really need to talk."

Ned threw the door open, and Digby rushed past him. "Please, j—just don't. I need to think," he blurted before storming out and slamming the door behind him.

**A/N: I seem to be ending with cliffhangers a lot...I considered ending it right before Ned's reaction, but I thought that it would be easier like this. What did you all think of the series finale?**


	6. Daddy Issues

**A/N: So, I realize that I haven't updated in nearly a month....go ahead and flame me or throw pies....my muse left me briefly, and certain family issues were probably the cause of the writer's block. Sorry! **

**Oh, and if characters are OOC, let me know! Seriously. I can take it! I'll stop wasting your time with the author's note: On to Pushing Daisies!**

_Emerson Cod was not pleased with the current series of events. The sudden intrusion of Ned's father, while causing Ned emotional distress, was also making our investigator very nervous. If Jack personally knew Charles Charles, and Charles Charles knew about Emerson's somewhat illegal investigative methods, then Jack most likely knew as well. And legal trouble (or at least legal trouble that didn't involve death) was bad for business._

"This is gonna be bad for business." Emerson scowled, storming into the kitchen. Chuck trailed after him, melodramatically wringing her hands. "Leave it to Pie-Boy to get an emotional crisis when I have an important case."

"'Bad for business?'" Chuck quoted. "No, this is going to be bad in general! Ned's going to be so upset after all this!"

Emerson shrugged. "We should go over to the crime scene and let him work out his own daddy issues on his own."

Olive slipped into the kitchen with Jack's mostly empty coffee mug. "What was all that about with his dad?" she asked, letting the coffee cup fall into the sink with a clatter.

"We _can't_ leave now!" Chuck exclaimed, turning her shocked puppy-dog eyes towards him. "What if he needs us to be here for him, for emotional support?"

"Why was he talking about Charles Charles?" Olive asked again, turning to check the ovens.

"He's going to want to _talk_ about his feelings, and—"

"Enough!" Emerson barked. "One at a time! Jeez. Okay, Ned wants us to go investigate the crime scene, so that's what we're going to do. _You_—" he pointed at Chuck. "—you have to come with, or else the second I turn my back you're going to try to fix Ned's 'daddy issues' and make it worse."

Chuck didn't protest. "Since when do you listen to Ned?" she joked, forcing a smile.

He snorted. "Since there's a money reward involved in it."

"Really, Emerson," Chuck reprimanded lightly, shaking her head.

He frowned at Olive. "Why're you turning off the ovens?"

She jumped to attention. "I'm coming with! Can't leave the ovens on!"

"Olive, you should stay here and keep the store open," Chuck said, trying to gently dissuade her. "That's probably what Ned wants you to do."

"Oh, please." Olive rolled her eyes and put her fists on her hips. "People practically think that the Pie Hole is closed on Wednesdays anyway, with how often we close down. And Ned wants me to come with! He said so as he was leaving! Right, Emerson?"

Chuck turned to Emerson, and Olive quickly stuck her tongue out at her before also looking at Emerson expectantly.

He sighed. How did he get stuck with such a childish group of investigators?

"Fine," he sighed. "Just…go get in the car. We're wasting time, alright?"

"Yes!" Olive yelled.

Chuck's expression darkened considerably.

"Ned's car," he corrected quickly. He wanted the protective plexiglass shield, just in case.

Moments after Emerson, Chuck and Olive left the Pie Hole, Ned threw open the kitchen door and nearly tripped over Digby, who was nearly as eager to escape Jack as Ned was. Unfortunately, even though the door slammed close with a satisfying bang, the lock didn't click.

"Ned?" Jack asked from the other side of the door.

"He's not here right now," Ned called angrily, rummaging through the fridge for ingredients.

Jack pushed the door open cautiously. "I knew you weren't going to take the news well."

"You think?" he retorted sharply, throwing pans and bowls onto the main table with a clatter.

"I should have broken it more easily, maybe led into it better…" he trailed off. "What are you doing?"

"Stress baking." Ned said shortly, starting to roll out a layer of dough. "I never really used to do it until _someone_ sent me off to boarding school, and I didn't have anything else better to do, because you had gone off and restarted your life without me—"

"I was scared, okay?" Jack snapped at him.

Ned continued to make the pie, not looking up at his father. "I'm listening," he finally said. Jack sat down on the opposite side of the table, fiddling with a spatula while telling his tale.

"I hadn't heard about Charles' death until that night. After all, Chuck's aunts aren't really fond of me that much, and I wasn't the first person they'd call. Or second. Or third. But they called me after—well, after Julia. They told me that she had passed, and that you were being taken care of, but I wanted to be there.

"I don't know how much of that night you remember, but you were crying when I got to the Charles' house. Lily and Vivian were doing their best, but as Lily so bluntly snapped at me, they had experienced a loss as well. So much tragedy in less than 24 hours.

"The strangest part of the night was something you said. Do you remember what it was?"

"No." Ned picked up a bowl of dead fruit, but suddenly stopped, wary of his father.

Jack pointed the spatula at the bowl. "You can use those, you know. It's not going to scar me for life. That's how your mother made pies."

Ned rubbed his eyes. Perhaps this explained his urge to bake pies after her death. How had he never noticed her in the kitchen, alive-ing again fruit? _"The same way Olive's never noticed you in the kitchen. Secrets are easy to keep with practice."_ he thought to himself.

"But that night you said something very strange," Jack continued. "At one point, when you were crying, you blurted out to me 'I'm sorry.' Now, your mother had given me some quick details about the 'exchange', as she called it, and I suddenly realized why Charles had died. And I knew about the second touch, from the museum, and I was terrified. You were sorry. Did you know it was going to happen?"

"No!" Ned said, horrified. "Of course not!"

"I was just so scared," Jack continued. "I realize now that I was probably overly paranoid, but I feared that I would become the next Charles Charles, sacrificed to revive someone you loved."

"I don't bring back people permanently," Ned said quietly. "Just Mom. And Chuck. And Charles Charles, but Chuck tricked me, so he doesn't count."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you were a murderer." He set the spatula down and stared at Ned intently. "I sent you to Longborough because I was scared. I shouldn't have abandoned you like that, and I have no reason besides my fear. I'm sorry."

Ned looked down at his pie crust, filled to the brim with alive-again fruit. "I—you can't just walk back into my life and just—demand me to forgive you," he said finally.

"I know."

"I need time. Okay?" Ned said, finally meeting his eyes.

"Okay," Jack agreed slowly. "But I still do have questions. And I want answers, whether they're from you, or Chuck, or that private-eye that keeps bossing you around."

Ned nodded. "Okay."

Jack stood up, and after looking around the kitchen awkwardly, he asked, "Do you have, like, a newspaper or something I can read until then?"

"There should be a few out in the front room," Ned said, slightly confused at how quickly the conversation changed.

_As Jack wandered into the abandoned front room, Ned contemplated leaving out the back door. Even though he would have had an excellent head-start, he decided to remain in the kitchen, making his Blissberry Pie. And so Father and Son spent a silent afternoon, each contemplating his past, musing on the new details that changed the memories slightly._

_TBC_

**A/N: If there's any inconsistancies, like timeline errors, PLEASE let me know! And, I'm decidedly bad at titles, so if you've got a strategy/tip that would be helpful, I'd appreciate it! Oh, and what is a beta reader? Okay, that's all my questions :D Thanks for reading!**


	7. SlipUps

**A/N: So, I realize it's been forever since I've updated this, and I'm very sorry....the "House" and "Grey's Anatomy" fandoms drew me away for a while. Not to mention my job and starting school :) Feel free to flame/throw pies due to the lateness! As usual, the Narrator is in italics.**

_While Ned and his father were pondering new information and feeling slightly hopeful, Emerson, Olive and Chuck found themselves in a slightly less cheerful atmosphere._

Emerson and Chuck were staring straight ahead in Ned's car, and Olive, in the backseat, leaned forward to make another attempt at conversation.

"So," Olive tried. "How about this weather, huh?"

"It's nice," Chuck said simply. "Sunny."

They fell silent.

Emerson sighed. "We're almost there," he said, mostly for his own benefit.

"Thank God," Chuck mumbled to her window.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Olive asked indignantly.

Emerson quickly jabbed at the radio buttons, looking for a distraction, but no noise emitted from the speakers. "All those rewards we get, and Pie Boy doesn't even spring for a new system," he thought miserably, preparing for the upcoming argument.

"Nothing," Chuck sighed dramatically. "I'm just a little stressed out right now."

Olive leaned forward again. "Well, you don't see Ned getting all snippety with me, even after his dad shows up unexpectedly and after we talked about what he—"

She stopped suddenly.

"Oh, hell no," Emerson muttered.

Chuck twisted around in her seat. "'After we talked about what Ned'…what?"

"Nothing, it's nothing really," Olive explained lamely. "He just said some stuff…that I don't really think I should repeat—"

"Itty Bitty…" Emerson said warningly.

"You and Emerson know?" Chuck asked in disbelief. "Okay, now you have to tell me!"

Olive scowled. "So, I'm not allowed to keep a secret from you?" she asked bitterly. After Chuck failed to respond, looking guilty, Olive asked, "Think we should tell her, Emerson?"

"Why not?" Emerson grumbled, pulling the car into the museum's parking lot. "She's going to find out eventually, and you already told her half of it anyway."

"Please, Olive?"

Olive sighed. "Okay. Ned once had feelings for me!" she said quickly.

The car stopped short, and Emerson, instead of attempting a better parking job, decided to throw the car door open and announce loudly, "We're here!"

She seemed stunned. "He said that to you?" she asked softly.

Olive wanted to pat her on the shoulder but the Plexiglass enclosure prevented that. "Chuck, he said it while we were on the cliff—dangling from it. He just blurted it out without really thinking—we were both about to die!"

"But he said that."

Olive pressed her hand against the glass. "I'm sorry."

Chuck turned to the front slightly. "I'm going to stay in the car while you and Emerson go in, alright?"

She nodded. "Okay." She got out of the car, and stood in front of Chuck's window. "I'm sorry," she said again.

When there was no reply, she turned around and started walking towards the museum with Emerson.

"I probably could have lead up to that a little slower, couldn't I?" Olive said.

"Yeah," Emerson shrugged.

_And as Olive pondered her slip-up with Chuck, Emerson made his own error mere seconds later._

"But, Dead Girl had to find out sooner or later."

_Emerson Cod may not have realized his mistake, but Olive Snook noticed the odd nickname. She thought of it as another piece to the puzzle that the others were so eager to hide from her. It was a puzzle she planned to complete, and preferably soon._

**A/N: It's a bit shorter than the other chapters, but I need it to bridge to the next chapter of events, and this was the best place to seperate them. Hopefully I'll update within two weeks this time... I'll try my best! Oh, and I was unsure if Emerson has ever said "Dead Girl" in Olive's presence.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


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